Sponsored: Use U.S. Cheddar to create these delicious Middle Eastern cheese pastries…

Middle Eastern TV chef Manal Alalem has collaborated with the USA Cheese Guild to create delicious recipes for Ramadan. At 3pm every Thursday during Ramadan, Manal hosts live cooking sessions on Instagram and Youtube, demonstrating how to create delicious Middle Eastern dishes using cheeses from the USA.

This week, Manal Alalem will be creating syrup-soaked kallaj pastries filled with apple and U.S. Cheddar cheese. To cook the recipe yourself, look for U.S. cheeses in major retailers in the UAE, including Lulu Hypermarket, Carrefour and Choithrams.

U.S. Cheddar & Apple Kallaj

Prep time: 45 minutes / Cook time: 40 minutes / Serves 12

Ingredients

  • 9 pcs filo pastry sheets (45×40 cm)
  • 300g (or 1 ½ cup) butter, melted
  • Oil for frying

Ashta filling

  • 500 (2 cups) full-fat milk
  • 1 ½ tbsp corn starch
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp rose water
  • 1 tbsp orange blossom water
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced
  • 150g (1 ¼ cup) U.S. Cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

Syrup

  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 tsp lemon juice

Topping

  • 50g (½ cup) U.S. Cheddar cheese, finely diced
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced

Directions

    1. To make the ashta filling, in a saucepan mix the milk, corn starch, granulated sugar, rose water and orange blossom until totally incorporated. On high heat, bring the mixture to a boil while stirring carefully with a whisk until the mixture thickens (you should reach a thick custard texture).
    2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
    3. Remove the ashta from the fridge and mix in the U.S. Cheddar cheese and the diced apple.
    4. Place the first filo pastry sheet on a board and, using a pastry brush, spread it with melted butter. Repeat the process until you have 3 stacks of 3 buttered layers each.
    5. Equally divide each stack into 4 rectangles to get 12 rectangles in total.
    6. Place 1 tbsp of filling in the centre of the short side of the rectangle, keeping it one finger (about 2 cm) away from the edge. Fold the left and right side over, making sure to cover the entire filling. Take the filled part and roll it over itself going toward the top of the rectangle. Chill for 20 minutes.
    7. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup by mixing the water, granulated sugar, cinnamon stick and the lemon juice in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring the mix to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it thickens to syrupy texture. Cool to room temperature.
    8. To cook the kallaj, preheat the vegetable oil in a pot over high heat until it reaches 150°C (or 300°F).
    9. Fry the kallaj in hot oil while flipping until golden brown and crispy (the kallaj will cook within a minute!). Once done, set on paper towel to remove the excess oil, then dip the kallaj in the syrup and make sure to cover the entire piece.
    10. Serve this dessert hot or warm, topped with U.S. Cheddar cheese and the diced apple.

For more delicious recipes using cheeses from the USA, try this lentil soup with a golden cheese topping, and follow USA Cheese Guild ME on Instagram. U.S. cheeses are available in the UAE at Lulu Hypermarket, Carrefour and Choithrams; in Kuwait at The Sultan Centre and Lulu Hypermarket; in KSA at Tamimi Markets, Danube and Manuel, and in Bahrain and Oman in Lulu Hypermarkets. Be on the lookout for the ‘Cheese from the USA’ seal.

Images: Supplied/Instagram